Asian markets plunge after huge Wall Street losses

TOKYO — A massive sell-off on Wall Street and an escalating global equity crisis sent Asian stocks plunging Friday, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index tumbling more than 10 percent.

"Selling is unstoppable in New York and Tokyo," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. "Investors were gripped by fear."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled more than 8 percent, South Korea's Kospi shed 7.4 percent, Shanghai's benchmark fell 4.1 percent, and Singapore's Straits Times index was off 7.0 percent. In Syndey, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 6.8 percent.

Friday's regional declines follow a 7.3 percent plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average Thursday to close below the 9,000-line for the first time in five years. Stocks nose-dived after a major credit-rating agency said it might cut its rating on General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., further rattling investors already fretting over the impact of tight credit on the economy.

The Dow's 2,271-point tumble over the last seven sessions is its steepest seven-day point drop ever. Its seven-day percentage decline of 20.9 percent is the largest since the seven-day plunge ending Oct. 26, 1987, when the Dow lost 23.8 percent. That sell-off included Black Monday, the Oct. 19, 1987 market crash that saw the Dow fall nearly 23 percent in a single day.

Lucinda Chan, associate director of Macquarie Equities in Sydney, called the market moves "ghastly."

"It is a very different and very unprecedented climate at the moment," she said. "Growth is going to be a major concern in this market and that is why the Australian market is getting a very hard pinch because we are a commodity export nation."

Miura in Tokyo said the ongoing meltdown in global financial markets showed "confusion and uncertainty" among investors worldwide.

Asia's falls come as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations prepared to meet later Friday in Washington.

"Investors are not so sure that the G7 will announce effective measures to contain the global financial crisis," Miura said.

In currencies, the dollar was hovering just above the 99-yen level Friday morning in Asia, strengthening from 98.82 yen late Thursday. The euro stood at $1.3595 from $1.3560.

Comments

[joshuahmcdonald]

But, but, but...the CRA did this!!!

[munki]

Greed of Wall Street investment bankers... please fix this up with prepaid fat check and golden parachute

[totaldisbelief]

Wall Street ,Bankers, Mortgage lenders and lax regulation are doing what "terrorists" couldn't do.
Who thought that we should have been protecting ourselves from our financial institutions?

[openhand]

Reagan's voodoo economics that we can spend to stimulate the economy was always a fraud, but in a world of finite resources and great poverty it is treason to the next generation.

[markie1111]

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, the creation of ICE (the real bottomline culprit) and the existance of CDSs and CDOs are at the root of this financial mess. and this is what we get for letting corporations anywheres near our democracy.

[rkimball]

bush made the statment earlier this year that he had no legacy to leave behind.

he does have a legacy, the great world depression. the gift that just keeps on giving.

[openhand]

the gift that keeps on taking.

$10 Trillion debt for 100 million taxpayers, is a bill of $100 000 per taxpayer. Where are you going to find that kind of cash when your property price has just halved?

[jeffmojo]

What a great country! Obama will take office just as the Depression hits. Dodd, Frank, Pelosi, Ried, and Hillary will be front and center when the American people are looking for the "usual suspects". What a great time to be alive!

[rkimball]

barney franks had it right,all republicans head on a platter,the very ones responsible for this mess.

[bpd1069]

I prefer Pikes over Platters..

[Vinca]

I think Nancy Pelosi intends to put some money for repairs to our infrastructure, it's badly needed, and it would give people jobs, it worked before

[Vinca]

I think as, do many others, it's part od the

[Vinca]

Last night on a caller seemed to think this wall street crisis was a part of , I also think that, it"s orchestrated, and they also got their GOLDEN PARACHUTE,, she said part of the strategy, is taking our country to it's knees, I'M PARAPHRASING

[brighterside]

I say "off with their heads!" Its time for another French revolution and this time on American soil.

[RebelPatriot]

thats why taser yesterday unveiled a new crowd control weapon - called the Shockwave.

for those unruly demonstrators, soup lines, unemployment lines, and bank cash-out lines.

[totaldisbelief]

Does it deflect bullets from that pissed off crowd?

[ScoobyDoo269]

I REALLY think these bankers that started this mess should do the Honorable thing and Jump out their WINDOWS.

[brighterside]

In Japan they actually do that. Why can't Americans show some honor and do the same think.

I know that some in executives in Tokyo will be promoted to new departments with no one around except a desk look out at a window and have nothing to do the whole day.

[totaldisbelief]

There's no honor on Wall Street.

[Vinca]

ScoobyDoo269; That would be THE HONORABLE THING TO DO, but first, they should tell us WHERE THEIR MONEY IS HIDDEN

[BobsNotWorking]

They spent it already. The money is gone folks. Gone.

[jeffmojo]

Barney Frank should jump with them!

[Bobrobert]

depression 08

Who gives a crap about the stock market????

My bloody house is worthless-who can make ends meet when their home is worthless and the mortgage is 40,000 more than the house is worth?????

[zelduh]

My house is in escrow - and I am terrified that it will fall out of escrow. The buyer is now asking for a bunch of stuff that was not in the original offer that I accepted. My broker keeps saying, "Zel, do it if you want this escrow to close." If I had listed it last year, I could have sold within a week and for $95,000 more. don't know what I will do if it falls out of escrow.

I am watching the red numbers cascading down the web page at http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=europee] I was watching Asia before the NIKKEI closed, hoping for some positive movement in the market. It was bloody ugly. See the Asian results here http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asiaa]

Methinks the US Stock market is in for a BLACK FRIDAY!

[hu.man]

European markets are tanking this morning as well. There is really a tremendous vacuum of leadership. Bush is totally clueless. Government needs to step in to restore confidence. People are liquidating their equity assets en mass. This is causing a meltdown that is completely psychological. There is a huge transfer of wealth out of weaker positions.

The real problem is not what is taking place now. The real problem is a long-term destruction of public confidence in equity markets. This means a lot of investors on the losing side of this equation will be staying out of the equity markets as this experience has left a very bad taste in their mouths. I think the stock market, as we have come to know it, is dead. It would have to fundamentally restructure itself to engender public confidence again.

[Norge]

A fine new documentary film is titled *The 11th Hour* should be seen by those who want an understanding of what so called growth does to earth.

[212RLamas]

hey what about ayers, rev. wright and rezko? omg.. we need to keep talking about that cuz it's more important right?

F that!!!!

we need to get the main stream media to reel in mcSame and his cohorts and force them to talk about the issues or not have them on at all, or cover their events at all... so write them millions of emails and get your friends to write them emails too...

msnbc http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ email at the bottom..
cnn http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?10 email at the bottom..
fox news email.. foxnews.comnews.com